Comfort of Apples

Modern Recipes For An Old-Fashioned Favorite

Book Description

Nearly 100 surprising and savory recipes

for a favorite fruit

The idea for The Comfort of Apples came to chefs Philip and Lauren Rubin when, after an afternoon spent picking apples at a local orchard, they looked at each other and wondered, “What do we do with them?” With the abundance of apples filling farmer's markets, supermarket produce sections, and orchards every fall, it is a rare soul who doesn't wind up with a veritable bounty of apple varieties filling their larder for at least several months out of the year. And yet many cooks don't realize that apples have infinite cooking applications beyond sauces, crisps, and pies. As this beautifully illustrated book shows, they can be julienned raw in a salad; poached whole in wine; used in the form of cider as a deglazing or braising liquid; fermented into warm drinks; or juiced and turned into sorbet. The list goes on.

Excited by the many uses for the humble apple, the authors here share nearly one hundred original recipes that will take the home cook beyond the basics—recipes for breakfast, appetizers, entrees, and desserts. In addition, they suggest the best apples for certain recipes, including many unconventional varieties that are showing up at greenmarkets and farm stands across North America. Some of the mouthwatering recipes include Poached Eggs and Apple Butter; Crostini with Clams, Bacons, and Apples; Oysters with Apple and Lime Granite; Crisp Pork Belly with Lentils and Applesauce; Gnocchi with Cauliflower, Peas, and Apples; and Applesauce Spice Cake with Penuche Icing.

About Rubin, Lauren

Lauren Rubin is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City, where she earned degrees in both the culinary arts and restaurant management. Following graduation, she cooked at the restaurants Union Pacific and Tribeca Grill, then moved on to working in the food department at Good Housekeeping magazine. She is now a personal chef along with her husband, Phil Rubin. Together, they own 2 Peas & A Pot, a Manhattan catering company that specializes in private parties. They have expanded from cooking, staffing, and planning intimate, elegant affairs to doing the same for larger, equally high-end dinners, buffets, and cocktail parties for more than 100 people.

Their events have included dinners for Indiana senator and presidential candidate Evan Bayh, former treasury secretary Henry Paulson, Broadway producer Roger Berlind, Gloria Steinem, and others. Their in-home cooking classes have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, and they were the subjects of a full-length feature in BizBash magazine, the premier trade magazine for event planners.